For the first time this season, the young Roosters have come away from 80 minutes of Holden Cup football with a level 24-24 score to claim just one competition point.
The opening ten minutes was being played in back and forth fashion, with both sides trading blows and errors in what looked like shaping into a scrappy affair.
It would be the Roosters to capitalise first through Jarred Anderson though, after he received a perfect offload from Victor Radley to send him over untouched.
That burst of momentum would be converted into points in the following set when Sean O’Sullivan split the defence and passed inside to Jesse Marschke to score beneath the black dot.
The scoring burst couldn’t stop the errors though as the scrappiness continues for the Roosters, which would eventually lead to points for the Rabbitohs.
They scored their first points of the night through Mawene Hiroti on the left edge to bring the score to within a converted try.
To put themselves ahead leading into the break the Rabbitohs scored a freakish try through their fullback Beau Cordtz, after chipping to his winger who batted it backwards for the put-down.
It would only take the Roosters ten minutes of the second half to claim back the lead after Lachlan Lam put in a well placed grubber kick to be collected and slammed down by Victor Radley.
The Rabbitohs would storm back in fiery fashion though, going back-to-back after a high flying effort from winger Jalen Reweti and a barging try from forward Jordan Mailata.
In the final ten minutes the Roosters would somehow find a way to get back into it, with two big efforts going a long way into locking the game up.
Adam Pompey soared in the air to collect a kick and plant it down, then Bernard Lewis split the defence, ran 30 metres and kicked inside to O’Sullivan to score in the following set.
A late scare would see the Roosters scrambling to defend their line in the final minute of play, but the scores would end up level at the full time siren.
ROOSTERS | 24: Anderson, Marschke, Radley, Pompey and O'Sulivan tries.
